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Activity set: Weather
Class: Senior infants.
Learning outcomes:
The child shall be enabled to…
• Observe and discuss a variety of weather conditions using simple vocabulary.
• Identify ways in which weather influences the lives of people; animals and plants in the locality.
• Discuss the suitability of different kinds of clothes for different weather .
• Become aware of and investigate the suitability of different kinds of clothes for winter.
I would use the story “Lost and Found” by Oliver Jeffers for this lesson on weather.
I would start by eliciting any prior knowledge the children have about weather and create a KWL chart for the lesson; Know/Want to know/Learned.
We would discuss the most common weather we experience here in our locality and discuss how it influences people’s lives and the lives of animals.
1. What activities can/cannot do when it is
sunny/wet/cold/foggy etc.
2. How does the rain/sun affect our pets or livestock.
3. What sort of clothes protect us from the weather? Materials?Whilst reading the book, we would pause to engage with a range of prediction and comprehension exercises while also focusing on vocabulary and oral language development.
We would compare and contrast the climate in our country with The South Pole.
We would make “connections” by drawing the children’s attention to penguins and The South Pole. I cover both of these topics in my senior infant SESE lessons throughout the year and this story will provide a great opportunity for cross curricular linkage.
To conclude, we will discuss the story paying particular attention to the weather conditions experience by the boy and the penguin and the suitability of the clothes they chose for their adventure.
Extension activities:
History: The story of Tom Crean.Geography: Natural environments. The South Pole.
SPHE: Myself and the wider world.
Feelings; empathy, companionship kindness and helping others.Space and Aliens
To introduce the topic of space and aliens, I would begin by reading the story Aliens Love Underpants with the class. Before reading, I would encourage the children to share what they already know about space and ask them questions such as what they think an alien might look like and where they think aliens live. This would help to spark their curiosity and encourage discussion. During the story, I would pause at different points to ask prediction and comprehension questions, allowing the children to engage with the text and develop their listening and communication skills.
Following the story, we would discuss the different characters and events, focusing on the imaginative way the author presents aliens. The children would be encouraged to describe the aliens using a range of vocabulary and compare them with humans. This discussion would also provide opportunities to introduce simple space-related vocabulary, such as planets, stars, rockets, astronauts, and galaxies.
The main activity would involve the children creating their own alien artwork. They would be encouraged to use their imagination to decide what their alien looks like, including how many eyes, arms, or legs it has, as well as its colours and unique features. Once their artwork is complete, each child would have the opportunity to talk about their alien by giving it a name, describing the planet it comes from, and explaining what makes it special. This would encourage creativity while also developing oral language and confidence when speaking in front of others.
To extend the learning, the children could take part in imaginative role-play by pretending to travel through space on a mission to meet friendly aliens. They could work together to solve simple problems, explore new planets, and create stories about their adventures. This type of play encourages collaboration, communication, and imaginative thinking while reinforcing the theme introduced through the story.
Extension Activities:
Art: Design and decorate your own rocket.
Materials; toilet roll, tin foil, red felt paper, yellow & orange card for the fire coming out of the rocket. Black marker for windows. Scissors for cutting.
Maths: 2D & 3D shapes worksheets based on a Space theme.
Music: The Planets Song. Singing and performing.Activity set: The Moon.
(Adapted for senior infants)
Learning outcomes:
To know that the Moon is a sphere.
That the Moon doesn’t always look the same.
That the moon takes on various shapes throughout the lunar cycle; full/half/crescent
Realise that the moon looks the same for everyone, whether city or countryside (multi-cultural theme)
Moon craft project and materials needed;
coloured circular craft sheets
coloured crescent-shaped craft sheets
gluepaint
scissors
sticky tape
white paper circle
white paper crescent
polystyrene spheres; one of which is white
Preparation: For the Make your own Moon project make sure you have enough paint, coloured craft sheets, spheres, glue, and scissors for each group.The Moon: 10 min.
Engage the children’s interest in the Moon by showing them a white paper circle
Ask the children if it looks like the real Moon. Now show them the crescent-shaped moon.
Does that look like the Moon? And the sphere? Do they think that that looks like the Moon?
Explain to the children that they are going to find out what the Moon looks like…Make your own Moon: 15 min.
Explain that they are going to make their own Moon and they can use all the materials laid out on the tables.
When they have finished, ask them why they made their Moon the way they did?
Pay particular attention to the colour and the shape. Ask them if the Moon really
looks like that? Explain that the Moon is really a sphere. From the Earth we can only see one side of the Moon at a time, which is why it looks flat. Sometimes we can see the Moon as a circle, and sometimes as a crescent.Journey through the Solar System.
LESSON 1:Moon rhyme.
Sit in a circle and show the children the discussion sheet that goes with the rhyme. What does the Moon look like here? Explain that you are going to learn the rhyme that goes with this picture.
At the end of the lesson get the children to colour in “Man in the Moon,”.
I see you from my bedroom!
But you don’t have any hair?
Your head is very round and bald.
Don’t you find it rather cold?
If you’ll just come down for a chat. 20 min.
Hand out the worksheet. Encourage them to identify shapes/figures on the image by colouring.
Ask if the Moon really has eyes, nose and mouth and wears a woolly hat, like in the rhyme. Why is it that they can see all kinds of figures in the Moon?
Explain that some places on the Moon are lighter and some places are darker.
The darker places make it look like there are figures on the Moon. Explain clearly to the children that their ideas and drawings are based on fantasy. In real life there is no Man in the Moon, or any other animals etc. Use discussion techniques to encourage the children to share what they now know about the moon.
Cross curricular linkage: History and the Story of Neil Armstrong
Maths and 3D shapes: The sphere
Oral language and the discussion around the life of an astronaut. What would you pack in your bag if you were Neil Armstrong?
How would you prepare for your mission? Knowledge/skills/physical training etc.
Create a drama activity based on your journey to the moon.
SPHE: I love you to the Moon and Back.Activity set: Space and Rockets
Class: Senior Infants
Lesson 1: To introduce the topic of space and rockets, I would begin by reading the story, “The Smeds and the Smoos”
Prior to the story, I would elicit any prior knowledge about space from the children and ask them questions such as,
1. Where do aliens live?
2. How do they travel around?
3. What do space rockets look like?4. How do they work?
5. How many people can travel in them?
Do humans travel differently to aliens?
6. What do astronauts need to bring in their rocket?This would help to spark their curiosity and encourage discussion.
We would then create a KWL chart based on their knowledge.
Know/Want to Know/Learned…
During the story, I would pause at different points to ask prediction and comprehension questions, allowing the children to engage with the text and develop their listening and communication skills. We would continue to add to our KWL chart.To conclude, we would discuss the story, the different characters and events, focusing on the imaginative way the author portrays aliens and rockets.
The children would be encouraged to describe the aliens and rocket ships using a range of vocabulary and compare them with humans. This discussion would also provide opportunities to introduce simple space-related vocabulary, such as planets, stars, rockets, launch, astronauts, and galaxies.
We would fill in the LEARNED part of our KWL chart.
Extension activities:Drama: children in role. Split the class into Smeds and Smoos
1. What is the difference between the 2 alien types?
<2. How could you travel between planets to meet one another?
3. Describe your rocket. Do the Smeds have a different one to the Smoos? Colour/shape/number of windows etc.
5. What would do the Smeds and Smoos wear/eat/drink/play with ?
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This type of role play encourages collaboration, communication, and imaginative thinking while reinforcing the theme introduced through the story.Lesson 2:. Experiment : “Dancing raisins, to enable the children to make the connection between rockets and forces.
Children use their scientific skills of predicting prior to the experiment, collecting data during it and interpreting and exploring the data afterwards. Questions such as;
1. What force makes the raisins dance?
2. Which raisins dance the highest?
3. Why do some raisins dance higher?The children then apply their learning in other areas; constructing their own rockets and in turn “make connections”.
Art: Design and decorate your own rocket.
Materials; toilet roll, tin foil, red felt paper, yellow & orange card for the fire coming out of the rocket. Black marker for windows. Scissors for cutting.Maths: 2D & 3D shapes. Constructing rockets.
Music: The Planets Song. Singing and performing.
SPHE: Myself and the wider world.
Feelings; empathy, companionship kindness, cultural diversity and helping others.Hi Elaine,
I love the idea of making “bubbling potions”. The apparatus you used is quite simple and I think the children would enjoy witnessing all the bubbles and foam.
There is plenty of cross curricular linkage too particularly in maths with measuring the ingredients.
This is also a lesson you could use during Halloween whilst concocting witches potions after reading the story of “Room on the Broom” by Julia Donaldson.Hi Doireann,
I love the idea of using Vaseline in this experiment to highlight the waterproof properties of animal skins/coats.
The penguin always seems to be an animal of interest to children in infant classes and this is a wonderful “hands on” experiment to do.Hi Rachel,
I like the idea of using station teaching in this lesson.
Stations are a great way of keeping infants “connected” as they move regularly throughout the lesson and get a chance to practice different skills. There is a lot of “hands on” creativity in this lesson which I think will appeal to all learning styles.Hi Shauna,
I like the idea of using an art lesson, “A Starry Night” by Van Gogh as a springboard for this topic.
Encouraging the children to see the link between astrology and art is a lovely way of exploring this theme. It brings a real creative edge to the lesson.Hi Hannah,
I like the idea of your planets game in PE. It is a lovely way of integrating science into the lesson. Conducting the lesson on a sunny day outside could be the perfect opportunity to explore shadows also.
This PE lesson not only encourages the children to practice their fundamental movement skills but it also brings in literacy and music with the “planets” song.
Using play-dough to construct the various planets is a lovely idea for infant classes and something I had not thought of doing myself.
Senior Infants Science Lesson: Floating and Sinking.
Learning Outcome:
The students will investigate and identify objects that either float or sink.They will use their scientific skills of “predicting” before the actual investigation is carried out and “discuss” and “explore” what they have discovered post investigation.
Materials:
Clear container filled with water
Small objects (e.g. plastic ducks, sponges, empty bottles, cork, coins, toy cars, , stone,Prediction charts with two columns for each student : Float and Sink
Inquiry Question:
What makes some objects float while others sink?Introduction (5–10 minutes)
Show the children the container of water and a selection of objects.
Ask:
“What do you think will happen if we put this object in the water?”
“Will it float or sink?”
Encourage children to make predictions and place each object on the prediction chart before testing.
Investigation (15 minutes)
One at a time, children choose an object.
They predict whether it will float or sink.
Place the object carefully into the water.
Observe what happens.
Sort the objects into two groups: Float and Sink.
Encourage children to use simple scientific language such as:
float, sink, heavy, light, water, predict, observe, explore, discuss, investigateDiscussion (10 minutes)
Ask questions such as:Which objects floated?
Which objects sank?
Were any of your predictions correct?
Did any objects surprise you?Did some objects sink quicker than others?
Do all heavy objects sink?
Do all light objects ?
Why do you think this is so?Conclusion (5 minutes)
Review what the children discovered.
Reinforce that scientists make predictions, test their ideas and observe carefully.
Finish by asking each child to name one object that floated and one that sank.
Extension: Invite children to find another object in the classroom and predict whether it would float or sink before testing it later.Design a life-jacket. (This was an activity that worked well this year in my own class).
The children choose from an array of “suitable” materials to design and make their own life-jackets.
This also ties in with SPHE and water safety,
Hi!
My name is Susan and I will be teaching senior infants next year.
My interesting fact about space is that the footprints already left on the moon by astronauts will last for millions of years to come ! This is because there is no wind or “weather” on the moon.
